Alexandria, VA – This year marks the 250th anniversary of the writing and signing of the Fairfax Resolves. Originally meant to protest what prominent colonists objected to in the British Government’s Intolerable (or Coercive) Acts of 1774, punishing the City of Boston for the Boston Tea Party, the Fairfax Resolves served as a precursor to the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
On July 18, the City of Alexandria will unveil a sign with the following text in front of the Carlyle House at 121 Fairfax Street:
Directly across the street from where you stand, radical and influential ideologies forged a path to revolution. The Fairfax County Resolves, written primarily by George Mason, were issued at the former Fairfax County Courthouse on July 18, 1774, and were the precursors to what ultimately became the Declaration of Independence. Well-known Alexandrians, including George Washington, John Carlyle, and Charles Alexander, supported the Resolves, or grievances, which objected to the Coercive Acts of 1774
The Resolves declared that the colonies had the right to govern their affairs and that Parliament could not tax them without their consent. It went further than the Resolves of other counties when it called for the colonies to unite and permanently abolish the slave trade, arguing this practice was forced on them by Britain as a way to keep the colonies dependent on the British Empire. The Resolves reflected Mason’s prioritization of individual liberties, which later resulted in his refusal to sign the Constitution and the creation of the Bill of Rights. While the writers of the Resolves only intended for those individual rights to apply to people like themselves, later generations used their words and ideas to demand those rights for all citizens.
The Signature Event is on July 18, the anniversary of the signing, on Market Square, starting at 6 p.m. History booths will open at 5:00 that evening. The event includes history booths, a marker dedication, the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps performance, and remarks by reenactors portraying George Washington and George Mason. Keynote remarks will be given by Carly Fiorina, Virginia’s National Honorary Chairperson of the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.
We hope to see you as we celebrate Alexandria’s role in the Fairfax County Resolves and, subsequently, the Declaration of Independence.
More Alexandria Fairfax Resolves Events
Free Outdoor Exhibit at Carlyle House
- Tuesday, July 16 through mid-September, find out more at com/parks/Carlyle-House-Historic-Park
Signature Lecture with Dr. Holly Brewer at Gunston Hall
– Wednesday, July 17, for more information, please visit gunstonhall.org
Special Events with Fairfax Resolves Sons of the American Revolution
- Thursday, July 18, find out more about the various Free events throughout the day at Gunston Hall, Mount Vernon, and Pohick Church at org.
Specialty Tours at Carlyle House
- Friday, July 19-Sunday July 21, find out more at com/parks/Carlyle-House-Historic-Park
Trivia and Tours at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum
- Saturday, July 20-Sunday, July 21, learn more about the tours and how you can win a prize at gov/GadsbysTavern.
Origins of the Revolution: 250th Anniversary of the Fairfax Resolves
- Wednesday, July 24-Thursday, July 25, to learn how to join emerging and leading historians at a two-day conference on the origins and causes of the War for American Independence, please visit org.
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